Eclipse: Voyage to Darkness and Light

SKU: 0-7434-0727-XPRICE: 18.95

Eclipse: Voyage to Darkness and Light Description

Author: David H. Levy

Paperback: 148 pages

According to world-famous astronomer David Levy, an eclipse of the Sun "is a natural event with unnatural consequences. In fact, a total eclipse of the Sun has the power to rip through to the core of your being."

Levy should know, having experienced the power of the vanishing Sun first as a child and most recently in August, 1999, on a ship in the North Atlantic. It was that voyage to the darkness of the disappearing Sun, followed by a rendezvous with a brilliant display of the Northern Lights, that formed the inspiration for this book.

In his narrative, Levy recounts the recorded history of eclipses, how they have been percieved by ancient cultures, how they can be predicted, and how best to view them. In addition, he explains the science of solar eclipses and what can be gained by studying them.

Levy describes the experience of being shipboard on a calm and quiet sea, watching a crescent Sun rise above the waves at dawn. Seeing a crescent Moon rising in the night sky is a common and often beautiful experience. Seeing the Sun come up as a mere sliver of itself can fill the heart with dread. Just a mere twenty minutes passed from the beginning of the event to totality, but Levy reveals that the actual experience is so powerful that it can be mind-altering.

In a manner accessible to all readers, David Levy recounts the story of nature's most profound displays.